Cory's Kitchen About?

Cory’s Kitchen was founded in October of 1996 at Faith Community Church in West Covina, California after the tragic murder of one of a young man of our church. Cory Stanfield was a 23 year old Christian who truly had a servant's heart. Cory worked with the youth groups of three different churches teaching outdoor skills such as rock climbing, water and snow skiing, backpacking, and other activities. He also was a proficient Bible instructor.

"At Cory’s funeral, I sat with his father consoling three of his former high school friends. Using verses that Cory had marked in his Bible, his father and I had the privilege of introducing these young men to Christ.

Shortly after Cory’s funeral I was approached by a Bible Study Leader at our church asking if my study group would be interested in donating money to purchase food for a member of our congregation who had broken his leg in a traffic accident. Being a diabetic, his prognosis for healing was expected to be rather slow and he would need financial support for an extended period of time. We donated some money, but knew that it wouldn’t last very long. God planted the seed of an idea that grew into Cory’s Kitchen, Inc."

~Wayne Leamons, Cory's Kitchen President and CEO

Working within the local community, Cory's Kitchen collecting donated food from grocery chains and warehouse outlets, the program can feed a family of four for a week at a cost of $25 per family. From our initial operations as an emergency food distributor, we grew to offer other needed services. We found a host of hurting people who simply needed some assistance in making decisions or in learning new skills that would allow them to succeed. And we have delivered those much needed services in a powerful way. I can’t begin to count the number of people who have benefited from our program.

A Faith-Based, Non-Profit, Organization

In July of 2001, Cory’s Kitchen incorporated as a non-profit, charitable organization called Cory's Kitchen, Inc. We have a core group of about 80 volunteers including counselors, food handlers, typists, data entry operators, teachers, and drivers. Additionally, the local Christian College (Azusa Pacific University), local high schools, and several local churches supply a steady stream of new volunteers each week to help us with our task.

Food for the Body and Soul

Folks who show up at Cory's Kitchen do not just get food. Counselors assess their needs and refer them to jobs and other services, such as; 12-step programs, budgeting classes and computer training programs. Cory's Kitchen gives them clothes for job interviews.
They also hand out food to the homeless, do outreach work to children in hospitals and send care packages to soldiers in Afghanistan and Iraq.
All money that is donated to Cory's Kitchen is used for the benefit of our clients. In fact, even our distribution facilities were generously donated to us by Hector & Brenda Pinto (owners of Quality Material Handling, Inc., in Azusa, CA) from July of 2001 through January of 2005. The only overhead cost in the operation of Cory's Kitchen was for equipment such as refrigerators/freezers, office materials, groceries, and transportation costs.
As of April 1, 2005 we moved into our present location at 1418 Arrow Hwy. in Irwindale. While the overhead cost has increased, it has enabled Cory's to step up to the next level; offering better services, more often, with better expansion potential.
No cost is ever passed on to our clients. Everything they receive from food to training is absolutely free. They can participate in or reject any part of our program. No one is coerced into any portion of our program.